When undertaking patient assessment, including assessment of the respiratory system, it is important that general practice nurses (GPNs) use all their senses. Expensive equipment and multiple investigations are useful when assessing a patient’s respiratory function, but the initial assessment can often be undertaken using the senses — hearing, sight and touch — as well as basic equipment, such as a stethoscope. This article, the first part of a two-part series on respiratory assessment, looks at history-taking. The information given should be used as an adjunct to any face-toface teaching of respiratory assessment skills and may provide the novice nurse with an idea of what to expect when undertaking an advanced clinical skills course. The second article in this two-part series will focus on the physical aspects of respiratory assessment.